WASHINGTON — More needy college students will have access to bigger Pell Grants, and future students who take out government loans will have an easier time repaying them under an overhaul of higher education aid that Congress passed Thursday and sent to President Obama.

The legislation, an Obama domestic priority overshadowed by his health care victory, represents the most sweeping rewrite of college assistance programs in four decades. It strips banks of their role as middlemen in federal student loans and puts the government in charge.

The House passed the measure 220-207 as part of an expedited bill that also fixed provisions in the new health care law. Maine Democratic Reps. Mike Michaud and Chellie Pingree both voted yes.

Earlier Thursday, the Senate passed the bill 56-43. Maine Republican Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins both voted no.

The switch to direct government loans will result in savings to boost Pell Grants and make it easier for some workers to repay their student loans. In addition, some borrowers could see lower interest rates and higher approval rates on student loans.

The legislation has a wide reach. About half of undergraduates receive federal student aid and about 8.5 million students are going to college with the help of Pell Grants.

The changes do not go as far as Obama and House Democrats wanted. That is because ending fees for private lenders would save less money than they anticipated, according to budget analysts. The bill is now expected to save $61 billion over 10 years.

As a result, the Pell Grant increase is modest and still doesn’t keep up with rising tuition costs. Advocates had sought bigger increases.

“The increases in the Pell Grant are better than nothing, but they are still quite anemic,” said analyst Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of the student assistance Web site FinAid.org.

When Pell Grants were created in 1972, the maximum grant covered nearly three-quarters of the average cost of attending a public four-year college. In 2008, the latest year for which figures are available, the maximum grant covered about a third of the cost.